I'm having trouble understanding Orange Box and how it plays a role in 2.2. I have the original HL2 with DM and CS:S. I never purchased the Orange Box package. From what I can tell, OB is more than just a bundle of games, but also an engine upgrade. Hammer itself is updated to OB Hammer. However, I can't launch it because I don't have EP2 or Portal, which make use of OB. I would like to use OB Hammer of course, because I here it comes with some nice bug fixes, but I'm not going to buy EP2 in 2.2 doesn't need it. Basically: Can I make a map that can be played in 2.2 using Hammer that's setup for HL2:DM, or should I seriously consider buying EP2? I've heard that there's issues with backwards compatibility support that Valve isn't formally addressing. Is it worth making a map in Source if it'll be outdated by the time it's finished? Also, if I do need OB, does that change how I need to configure Hammer? This is the current way: http://wiki.empiresmod.com/index.php?title=Configuring_Hammer_for_Empires
If you have the source SDK base [IE HL2] you can play the OB, I'm pretty sure this is in a sticky. I dunno about mapping. I'm also bad at reading sometimes. This post adds nothing. :downs:
thougt that lost coast used OB engine....maybe i'm mistaken but i was pretty sure it did, and thats a free episode for any hl2 owners....which would give you any n all OB support stuff u need.
Maybe it would help if I told you why I can't use OB Hammer. When you open Source SDK, you have 2 drop down lists at the bottom. The first allows you to chose between HL2 and OB. The second allows you to choose a game based on your pick. For instance, if I chose HL2, I can chose to edit CS:S, DM, or DoD. But If I chose OB in the first dropdown, I have nothing available in the second dropdown. When I select OB and my empty second dropdown and go to launch Hammer, I get this message: "No game configurations to run with." I hit "OK" and I'm back where I started. Tried refreshing SDK content and resetting game configurations and restarting steam. I have both Source SDK - Base and Source SDK - Orange Box. Both have installed and I can run the vid tests in them. So, the question is, how do I get Hammer to run with OB selected? And if there is no answer to that, do I even need to use OB Hammer to make a map that will work in 2.2? I think that's the main thing. It would be great to run OB Hammer, but for the purposes of this discussion board, I really only want to know about 2.2.
Because you don't own an orange box game and therefore don't have the GCF or FGD files required to compile under the OB. Simple solution: Buy Ep2 or Portal. Or even TF2. It's not like they're expensive
Althoguh I think they did include a few basic particles with the SDK base, and I assume the team will be making some of their own?
Correct me if i'm wrong, but wether there are games in that list or not doesn't make any difference. You have to MAKE a configuration for empires in order to map for empires. After you've done that, that configuration will be added to the list of OB configurations. In your case, since your list is empty now, Empires would be the only one, but it should work.
Silk has it. You don't need to buy anything, just set up a configuration file for Empires (instructions here). Of course, this guide assumes that you can launch hammer with no existing configurations. Maybe if they're stored in a file somebody could share theirs to get you started?
The configurations are stored in gameconfig.txt in your sourcesdk/bin/ob/bin folder. If you have a config set up for ep1 hammer, copy the gameconfig.txt from sourcesdk/bin/ep1/bin to ob/bin folder, and you will be able to run ob hammer with that config. This is enough to get it started, but you will still need to edit the options in hammer to point to the relevent OB folders for it to work properly.
I think he can open hammer for hl2 with for example the DoD configuration, then go to settings and configure Empires for OB, close hammer, select OB and empires in Source sdk, and open hammer again. Also remember that the wiki shows settings to map for 2.12. To map for 2.2 some options will have to changed. Basicly settings that have ep1 in them will have to changed so they point to the same thing but in the OB folder.
No, if you have no configurations for OB hammer you cant load it until you copy the gameconfig.txt because there are seperate gameconfig.txt files for EP1 and OB in the respective folders.
Still having issues... I changed the gameconfig.txt to look like this: Code: "Configs" { "Games" { "Empires" { "GameDir" "c:\program files\steam\SteamApps\SourceMods\Empires" "hammer" { "GameData0" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\SourceMods\Empires\mapsrc\fgd\empires.fgd" "GameData1" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\base.fgd" "GameData2" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\halflife2.fgd" "TextureFormat" "5" "MapFormat" "4" "DefaultTextureScale" "0.250000" "DefaultLightmapScale" "16" "GameExe" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\half-life 2 deathmatch\hl2.exe" "DefaultSolidEntity" "func_detail" "DefaultPointEntity" "emp_building_nf_barracks" "BSP" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\vbsp.exe" "Vis" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\vvis.exe" "Light" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\vrad.exe" "GameExeDir" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\half-life 2 deathmatch\hl2" "MapDir" "c:\program files\steam\SteamApps\SourceMods\Empires\mapsrc" "BSPDir" "c:\program files\steam\SteamApps\SourceMods\Empires\maps" "CordonTexture" "BLACK" "MaterialExcludeCount" "0" } } } "SDKVersion" "3" } As you can see, anything that originally pointed to ep1 now points to orangebox. The *** is put in place of my steam account name only in this thread. The actual .txt file on my PC has the correct name. Now I can start up OB Hammer by selecting Orange Box from dropdown 1 and Empires from dropdown 2. However, when I open any existing map, or start a new one, my screen looks like this: It's broken. Can't make a brush or place a camera or pretty much do anything. Tools > Options... shows that Hammer accepted the config and shows no errors. If I had to guess, I'd say that the problem is with the deathmatch hl2.exe since it isn't made for OB. If close Hammer and load it the way I did before, HL2 in dropdown 1 and HL2:DM in dropdown 2, Hammer works normal again. So, I'm back to my original question. Do I need an OB game to get this thing to run? - or, more importantly for this forum - Can I make a perfectly good map for 2.2 using Source instead of OB Hammer? And, if the hl2.exe is the problem, what .exe are the devs basing 2.2 on?
Configuration seems to be correct. My configs for both 2.12 (EP1) and 2.2 (OB) point to deathmatch as well, without problems. It seems to me that your sdk content just has problems. Try validating/refreshing. Edit: I have one thing different after all though i don't think that one matters: "GameExeDir" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\xxx\half-life 2 episode two\hl2"
Ok, time to end this mess. For starters, though copying the gameconfig.txt file is good for starting off, you should remove all games and mods using the episode 1 engine from the OB gameconfig.txt file, easily done through Hammer, after you're done. This is because any games not using the OB engine will not propeperly show up in hammer, as evidenced by the above screenshot. The grid won't render, no matter what. Until you have Empires 2.2, or modify the gameinfo.txt file in your Empires folder to use the OB contents (which invalidates your copy, making it impossible to connect to servers or perhaps even to start up the game, until you change it back), you can't use OB Hammer with Empires 2.12. I suggest using a second folder named anything (probably Empires_2.2 for ease of use), with a gameinfo.txt designed to load the OB engine, and setting hammer to that folder. All you have to do is copy the gameinfo.txt and change the SteamAppId to 218 and set Hammer's "Game directory" to load that folder.
Problem Solved! Thanks for taking a look at this, Solo. Now I can run OB Hammer for Empires. As a recap for anyone looking for an answer in this thread: To set up Hammer to make a 2.2 OB Empires map: 1. Go to C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\SourceMods. Copy and paste your Empires folder and name your new copy "Empires_2.2" 2. Copy the the gameinfo.txt file in the "Empires" folder and move it into "Empires_2.2". Change the SteamAppId to 218 in the "Empires_2.2" gameinfo.txt only - leave the one in the "Empires" folder alone. 3. Go to C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin and change the gameconfig.txt to look like this: Code: "Configs" { "Games" { "Empires_2.2" { "GameDir" "c:\program files\steam\SteamApps\SourceMods\Empires_2.2" "hammer" { "GameData0" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\SourceMods\Empires_2.2\mapsrc\fgd\empires.fgd" "GameData1" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\base.fgd" "GameData2" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\halflife2.fgd" "TextureFormat" "5" "MapFormat" "4" "DefaultTextureScale" "0.250000" "DefaultLightmapScale" "16" "GameExe" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\half-life 2 deathmatch\hl2.exe" "DefaultSolidEntity" "func_detail" "DefaultPointEntity" "emp_building_nf_barracks" "BSP" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\vbsp.exe" "Vis" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\vvis.exe" "Light" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\vrad.exe" "GameExeDir" "c:\program files\steam\steamapps\***\half-life 2 deathmatch" "MapDir" "c:\program files\steam\SteamApps\SourceMods\Empires\maps" "BSPDir" "c:\program files\steam\SteamApps\SourceMods\Empires\maps" "CordonTexture" "BLACK" "MaterialExcludeCount" "0" } } } "SDKVersion" "3" } This file assumes you have no other games set for OB. If you do, they would also appear here in their own entries and shouldn't interfere. The "***" is where your steam account name would go. You'll see it in your steam directory while you're setting this up, so don't worry if you don't know what it is right now. 4. Run Hammer with OB and Empires_2.2 selected. You should be able to create new maps and open all of your old ones, too. 5. After you compile your map, if you want to play test it, you need to play it under the old Empires 2.12. It will not function under your Empires_2.2 mod.
